Storms pelt Midwest with rain, winds, hail

CHICAGO (AP) — A line of storms packing hail, lightning and tree-toppling winds has started rolling through the Midwest. The storms could affect more than one in five Americans from Iowa to Maryland before subsiding.

In tiny Belmond, Iowa, Duwayne Abel, owner of Cattleman’s Steaks & Provisions restaurant, said a tornado swooped through his business’ parking lot on Wednesday night and demolished part of the building. Abel wasn’t at the restaurant but saw the tornado from a distance. No one was inside the restaurant.

More small tornadoes were reported in other parts of Iowa and in Illinois. More than 1,200 customers in northern Iowa have lost power.

In Chicago, tonight’s White Sox game against the Toronto Blue Jays was postponed and a symphony concert at a downtown park was canceled.